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What are the for lack of a better word "chimneys" on the backs of the larger nids (carnifex/tyrant. . . )
What do they do?
I assumed they were to help cool the nid's body since they are exoskeletons, and are not mammals so they wouldn't sweat

I think they spew toxic miasma, spores, microbiotic tyranid organisms etc.

Norwulf wrote:I think they spew toxic miasma, spores, microbiotic tyranid organisms etc.

Eeeewwww Gross.

Ive seen some cool work with greenstuff on fexes with toxic miasma, they put a muddy looking ring of purple goo around each chimney.

I always thought that was part of their lungs.

Insects breathe through holes in their exo-skeleton, so that's what I always thought the chimnies were for.

starbomber109 wrote:Insects breathe through holes in their exo-skeleton, so that's what I always thought the chimnies were for.

Only problem with that theory is that according to GW, Tyranids are more physiologically like dinosaurs and other saurians than they are insects.

Hmmm, and only three tyranid models really have it. The Hive Tyrant, Carnifex, and Zoanthrope all have these 'vents' on their back...maybe the purpose is more psychic than anything.

Since when are carnifexes psychic?

ph34r wrote:Since when are carnifexes psychic?

*shrug* Ask someone who plays tyranids.

This whole thread sounds like the blind leading the blind.



But seriously, the vents are usually for the toxic miasma buff (besides making the model look cool). Reduces an attacking models A by 1 to a minimum of 1.

Doombot001 wrote:But seriously, the vents are usually for the toxic miasma buff (besides making the model look cool). Reduces an attacking models A by 1 to a minimum of 1.

Swing and a miss.

What else could they be for? Maybe they are part of some kind of cooling organ on very large tyranids. (I also noticed that the biovore model has ONE vent like this on top of it's "gun")

I would say that cooling vent is a good idea cause the rate that the large criters go and the fact that they would have a outragesly high body temp a cooling vent would be a good idea.

Kirbinator wrote:

Doombot001 wrote:But seriously, the vents are usually for the toxic miasma buff (besides making the model look cool). Reduces an attacking models A by 1 to a minimum of 1.

Swing and a miss.

Just read my codex. Now it TRULY is the blind leading the blind.

My bad for the wrong info. Mixed up the different bio-doodads Tyranids have!

Orkfantic wrote:I would say that cooling vent is a good idea cause the rate that the large criters go and the fact that they would have a outragesly high body temp a cooling vent would be a good idea.

seconded, it makees sense.

maybe the orginisms with toxic miasma, breath out the poison, by turning oxygen into it somehow, like we breath out CO2.

A friend of mine once commented that perhaps they are exhaust vents for when they fire their weapons such as venom cannons. In fact whenever we would play a game and I'd use a VC or Barbed Strangler he'd make a small farting noise.

starbomber109 wrote:

ph34r wrote:Since when are carnifexes psychic?

*shrug* Ask someone who plays tyranids.

Oooh! Me!

Since carnifexi are the biggest things we have, and can operate outside of synapse, then perhaps the vents (staying with the psychic theory), are so the hive mind can directly control the carnifexi, them being to big to do it themselves, like the lictors.

Not quite, Carnifex's are described as being extremely simple minded and bent on doing nothing but crushing the enemy. If it's not a Nid it charges, pretty much end of story.

thesuperiorninja wrote:Not quite, Carnifex's are described as being extremely simple minded and bent on doing nothing but crushing the enemy. If it's not a Nid it charges, pretty much end of story.

As far as i gather from nids fluff, none of them really have a "mind". They just take commands that are channeled from the hive mind thru psychic conduits, i.e. Tyrants and Warriors.

Carnis are different cuz they're just engines of destruction, they really have no mind of their own. Genestealers and broodlords probably have some semblance of brain funtion tho, as they used to be human...

They used to be human? I always thought they were partially made from human genes or something. Are genestealers the fate of survivors? I thought they just got eaten Hurr hurr.

The vents are for decoration. Don't think too hard about it, they're just toys.

dumbuket wrote:The vents are for decoration. Don't think too hard about it, they're just toys.

Well your screenname serves you well. This section is about the story of 40k and that's what's being discussed, go be stupid somewhere else.

back on topic @ Zid: Well if you read some of the fluff (or even just look at some of the models) they do have brains and therefore minds. Besides the "Instinctive behavior" rule for gaunts lends to them having the same mind as any animal it's just being dominated by a higher one most of the time like you said.

I'm for the cooling system theory.
It makes sense that larger creatures generate more body heat and need to vent it
Using the vent to spew out gross stuff is just a plus.

Oops double post.

So wait, are nids cold blooded or warm blooded? How does thid pretain to the cooling vent theory? (I'm no biologist) But I would think nids are cold blooded, due to their lizard like appearance.

well not all reptiles are cold blooded. They've been likened to dinosaurs specifically which were more than likely warm blooded. They could still be used for cooling the same way a dog pants because it can't sweat.

I would say they are warm blooded cause being cold blooded would be a bad thing on ice planets and limit thier activiites. Same effect on desert/volcano plants as they would all simply over heat, he he exploding bugs